


Paranoia

by DontForgetAParachute



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Friends to Lovers, M/M, Smut will be in Chapter 2, hopefully i'll remember to add tags with that
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-19
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-09-09 17:52:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8905744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DontForgetAParachute/pseuds/DontForgetAParachute
Summary: Here's how the game works:
All players gather in a circle. A coin is needed. Each player will ask the individual to their right or left a question. The question has to be answerable with the name of a person (or people) in the circle. "Who do you think has done...?" and "Who is the most likely to...?" are common themes. The individual being asked must say the name of the person they choose as their answer out loud. The coin is tossed. If it lands on heads, the individual that was asked the question must repeat it out loud. If it lands on tails, the individual doesn't repeat the question, and everyone is left PARANOID as to just what exactly they were the answer to.
 
It was Tony's idea, of course. 
But funny things happen when Bucky, Steve, and Natasha all end up sitting next to each other...





	

**Author's Note:**

> The song in this story (if you don't recognize it!) will be posted in the notes at the end. It's a good one. Look it up. :)

“Alrighty! This game is called _Paranoia_ —” Tony was cut off by a groan with _oh, dear_ , from Hope and a loud laugh from Natalia. “—and it is honestly one of my favorites, especially if you play it with the right people,” he finished with a malicious grin.

Bucky looked up lazily from where he and Steve were playing Connect Four. “And what do you mean by ‘the right people’, then?” His gaze had shifted back to the yellow plastic stand between them before he had even completed the question, really only asking to entertain Stark Jr.

“Well, my finely frosted friend,” Tony ignored the metal middle finger lifted in his direction, “there are mainly three types that would qualify as _the right people_. First, you need the regulars. The average, not too boring but not too entertaining majority that keep a level of normalcy to provide a base for the more witty of the group to peak upon. Then you need the witty ones, myself being a prime example, who will provide some of the best entertainment and inspire the others to think _wilder_. Finally, you always need a couple of...well, maybe ‘innocents’ isn’t quite the right word, but possibly ‘naïve’ and—‘inexperienced with life’ ones to be the butt of the jokes and get all cutely flustered. A couple of Steve’s, if you will.” Tony grinned and Steve groaned, ducking his blonde head.

Now Bucky was a little more interested. Turning away from the game of Connect Four completely (he was losing anyway—Steve was their best strategist after all) he looked at Stark Jr. with a raised eyebrow. “Oh? So what _is_ this game?”

Tony looked like a kid on Christmas, which could only mean trouble. Whether it was the good kind of trouble or the bad kind, Bucky had yet to be sure. “Gather ‘round, kiddies, gather ‘round. Make a nice big circle, yeah? Pretend we’re actually good at geometry and all that.” Scott was the last to sit, handing a drink to Hope and taking a sip from his own.

“Alright, so any of you played this game before?” A few of the group raised their hands, while most just looked mildly bored. “Hm, this should be interesting. I suppose most of you will do decently. Not to fear, though. I’m always here to save the day—err, game, if things get a little bland.

“We each ask the person to our right or left—whichever we decide—a question. That question is only meant to be initially heard by the person being asked, and the answer must be the name of a person in the group. Most questions will likely start out with ‘Who do you think would…’ or ‘Who would you say is…’  The person being asked the question must then answer out loud, so that everyone knows the answer but not what was asked. We then flip a coin, and if it lands heads, the person who was asked the question has to repeat it, and if it lands tails, they don’t. That way, if your name is said you’ll be left _paranoid_ about what the question was, and if the coin lands on heads, you get to hear the answer. For better or for worse.”

Bucky looked around the circle to gauge people’s reactions. Clint looked pretty interested, as did Sam, Pietro, and Rhodey; Scott and Thor looked comically excited; Sharon and Pepper were grimacing—he assumed they had played this before with less than stellar results; Steve looked scared, already sure he would be targeted since he was one of the less-than-experienced ones Starky-boy had described. And Natalia…Natalia looked rather smug, for whatever reason. He was positive she was already formulating the most embarrassing, soul-revealing questions possible to womankind in her head.

Everyone else still looked a little vague about the idea, though not as bored as before. Tony obviously didn’t think this was fitting, so he tried to get them geared up and ready. “Come on, this is gonna be fun! Okay, which way do we want to go first? Who should we asks our questions to?”

Bucky spoke up immediately, going with ‘right’ as Natalia called out ‘left’ at the same time. Steve, in the middle of the two, looked terrified.

“Fine. Tails is left, heads is right.” Tony pulled out a coin and flipped it in the air before anyone had really registered. “Aaand left it is then! Who wants to start?”

Natalia, sitting to Steve’s right, volunteered immediately. “I’ll go.”

Bucky had a new appreciation for that woman, even if she _had_ stolen his Stevie to embarrass with x-rated questions. He had noticed she’d moved from her spot on one of the bar stools to immediately sit beside Steve when Tony had called them to circle up, already knowing the game and the entertainment factor of sitting near someone so… _pure_.

“Hmm, let me think.” Natalia tapped her chin thoughtfully while Steve trembled beside her. Bucky thought the two of them made a hilarious picture: Steve, huge and strong and not afraid even when staring down giant aliens and sea monsters but scared to death in _this_ moment; and Natalia, tiny and lithe and looking completely nonthreatening in a flowing purple dress as she lounged on the couch, even if they all knew she was anything _but_.

Steve flinched as she pretended to perk up with an idea. “Okay, got one! C’mere, Steven, I don’t bite. Usually.”

They all watched in anticipation as Steve (poor, _poor_ Steve) leaned slowly towards the beautiful and deadly woman to his right. Natalia lifted her hand to cup by his ear and block anyone from reading her lips or overhearing. They were all surprised when Steve visibly deflated with relief and let out a shaky laugh. Whatever it was she had asked him, it obviously had been nothing as bad as they were all expecting. Especially Steve.

“Okay. Um…Wanda,” he announced, looking over to the young witch who sat a little past Bucky. “And no reading my mind for what it was if the coin lands on tails,” he instructed with a patronizing finger wag.

The young woman smiled at him from behind her glass. “I would never dream of it, _Captain_ ,” she purred in her melodic accent, and if Bucky didn’t know any better he’d think she were flirting with him. But the two of them shared a special connection, Steve growing to be like an older brother or young uncle to her as she had gotten used to being apart from Pietro when on separate missions (and the weeks he spent in the hospital following Sokovia, struggling to survive) or in the trying times of testing how far her powers could extend.

Tony flipped the coin, and a few of them leaned forward a bit as they became more engaged in what they realized would actually be a pretty fun game. “And it is!…tails. Oh, well. Doesn’t sound like it was anything too scandalous based on Capsicle’s reaction, anyway.” Steve shot Tony a glare, then sent a warm smile over in Wanda’s direction.

“Okay, Stevie. Time to ask me a question. Do your worst,” Bucky challenged his best friend.

The blonde man thought a moment and leaned over to Bucky, breath tickling the longer brunette strands and puffing warmly against his neck.

Bucky drew back with an unimpressed look. “Really? That the best you got, punk?”

Steve turned a little pink, shrugging. “Well?”

Bucky turned back to the circle, considering his options. “Vision.”

Tony flipped the coin. “Heads. Okay, Barnes. What highly embarrassing and intensely ignominious question did yonder ‘ _Stevie’_ ask?” Tony drawled sarcastically.

Bucky smirked. “Punk asked who I would want with me to rob a bank,” he supplied. Vision looked distantly offended.

“I assure you, Sargent Barnes, Captain Rogers, that I would never be part of such an ill-chosen misdemeanor.” He paused. “I would consider my abilities to be far too advanced to be wasted on such a lowly infraction.”

Everyone stared for a moment, before breaking into laughter. Leave it to Vision to keep them on their toes, tricking them into believing he was being his usual up-right self that was used to acting as dissuader of Tony’s poorer ideas, and then pulling the rug from under their feet by reminding them of his impeccable sense of wit and sarcasm. He was originally programmed by Tony, after all.

“Oh? And what sort of crime _would_ you consider to be worthy of your ‘abilities’?” Bucky shot back.

“I believe that I shall not be at liberty to say, lest I give Mr. Stark and yourself any ideas to compromise universal integrity,” Vision replied airily, causing most of them to chuckle once more.

“Alright, alright. Keep thinkin’ yourself above the likes of me and Stark. I know _I’m_ above _him_ , at least.”

Bucky decided to ignore Vision’s quiet murmur of, _I assure you that I already do,_ and turned to his left instead. He smiled easily at Pepper, throwing an amiable arm around her shoulders as she settled comfortably against him. Tony stiffened considerably and shot him a glare.

“Pepper, my dearest. How fair you this evening?” He asked in a mock-posh accent.

“Why Mr. Barnes, I fair grandly, thank you for asking. And how about your fine self?” she replied easily, bringing her long legs up under her on the couch so that she was fully tucked into his side.

“Quite well, thank you. Would it be quite alright if I ask you a question?”

He and Pepper had been good friends ever since they first met, surprising everyone considering their contrasting personalities. But she had been immediately welcoming to him following his move into the tower, showing a maternal kindness that he had often relied on for support back in those dark days.

Now he was better, but their friendship had remained strong, evolving into more of a bantering relationship from their previous mentor-pupil one. She was still prone to be protective and look out for him, and she was always the first he went to for advice, but nowadays the two of them shared more laughter than tears and dark stories.

“Of course. As long as it isn’t anything that would make me blush,” she responded, continuing to play along but also giving him a meaningful eyebrow raise.

Bucky sniffed seriously. “Of course, I would never dream of such a thing.” He leaned down and whispered in her ear: “If you had to choose anyone’s parents to have a threesome with, who would it be?”

She looked around the circle with a serene expression contrasted by the sharp elbow to his ribs. He let out an ‘ _oof’_ of surprise. Woman was always stronger than he gave her credit for.

“I think I would have to go with Vision,” she finally decided, turning to look Bucky coolly in the eye.

“Wouldn’t that mean…?” He frowned, before laughing. “Ah, yes. Well played, well played.” If anything, the people that would be closest to qualifying to Vision’s parents would be Tony and…herself. Smart woman.

She ended up not having to share, smiling to herself at Tony’s discontented pout. The game continued, with Bruce deciding that if “the other guy” had to have sex with someone it would be Stark (“Because he’d deserve it,” Bruce had commented, putting his feet up and leaning back comfortably as Tony cringed and readjusted his seat at the thought) and Sam saying that if anyone would be elected president it would be Pepper. Natalia was the answer to many questions, mostly ones such as “Who would survive the zombie apocalypse?”, “Who would be able to assassinate Trump and get away with it?”, and “Who is most likely to secretly be a professional makeup artist?” (although Clint seemed to be a close contender for that one as well). Steve was also the answer to quite a few, mostly the ones that questioned who would _not_ have done _this_ , or who would be the one to put a stop to _that_ (Clint had asked Pietro who he thought the oldest virgin was, most likely just so the point could be brought up again and embarrass Steve—even though everyone all but knew for a fact that it was definitely the Captain).

When it came to be Natalia’s turn again, Bucky fully expected her to ask Steve a real doozy. He was surprised yet again when it was revealed that all she had asked was, “Who would be mostly likely to secretly sing along to Shakira in the shower?” to which Steve had decided Clint. The archer in question held up his hands, claiming that, “C’mon, that ain’t no secret!”

Steve turned to Bucky and hesitated. Bucky waited patiently, foot tapping quietly along to whatever soft jazzy song it was FRIDAY was playing in the background. Steve leaned in once again and Bucky tilted his head. Bucky saw everyone watching with interest as his expression turned from one to casual expectancy to shock to laughter. They were even more interested when he kept laughing, head thrown back and not holding back like he often did when he found something amusing. Steve smiled bashfully next to him, giggling a little and obviously pleased he had made his friend laugh so much.

“This can’t be good,” Rhodey muttered, as Bucky continued to laugh loudly into the room. Natalia arched one of her elegant eyebrows, mouth twisting to the side a bit in the way that indicated she found something amusing. She sat there content as a cat, and Bucky wondered for a moment if she knew anything along the lines of what Stevie had asked him. It wouldn’t surprise him if she did, even though he himself was more than shocked at what Steve’s question had been.

“Steve, you old _dog_ ,” Bucky finally managed to choke out. “Not something I woulda expected from you, but hey. Apparently there are such things as microwaves and cars that drive themselves now, so nothin’ much should really be surprising me at this point. But heck, Stevie. I didn’t think ya had it in ya.” Bucky felt accomplished at making Steve’s cheeks turn an even darker shade of pink. Not that it was hard to do, considering Steve got flustered at just the mention of bathing suits, but still. It was always kinda cute.

“Are you ever gonna spill, Barnes, or will we have to force it out of you?” Sam asked from where he was sitting on the arm of one of the ridiculously large and plush couches.

“No, well, I gotta give an answer first. Hmm.” Everyone around him appeared a little nervous, concerned now of being chosen for what was probably nothing so bad as anything that had already been asked, but if it was a question coming from _Steve_ that was apparently less than innocent…

Bucky looked carefully around the circle. He didn’t know why this was so hard. It really shouldn’t be, but maybe he was still just thrown off by the type of question _Steve_ of all people had asked. Yeah, that was it.

Still having difficulty choosing, Bucky side-eyed Steve in a way that was meant to say, _why did you have to make this so hard?_ But then…hold on. He turned more fully to Steve, taking in the other man’s built physique, strong jaw and straight nose, and blue eyes that had everyone either falling for him or questioning their sexuality while singing the national anthem in their heads.

Steve ducked his head a little bit, turning faintly pink under his best friend’s intense gaze and raising a hesitant eyebrow at him while trying to cover his nervousness by scratching the back of his neck (he really should know by now that just makes someone _more_ conspicuous, not less). The people around them shifted in their seats or straightened their posture, sensing something big was about to happen.

“…You.”

Bucky wore the biggest, _ha! You thought_ , grin any of them had ever seen—which was saying something. He looked towards Steve in a manner that indicated he had backed his friend into a corner, and Steve…well. That was _exactly_ what Steve looked like he felt had happened.

“I… _what_?! You can’t do that! Tony, tell him he can’t do that!” Steve turned pleading eyes towards their billionaire friend. “ _I_ asked the question; _I_ can’t be the answer!”

Tony, God bless that man. Even if he had programmed Bucky’s left arm to blare Carly Rae Jepsen’s _Call Me, Maybe_ every morning for a week at 6 am after running “a simple, harmless diagnostic of Commy tech” on his arm. But Bucky was willing to forgive the genius of all his past transgressions if he allowed Steve to be Bucky’s answer. And, based on how he was squinting one calculating eye between the two of them, it looked like he was seriously close to it.

Tony let the suspense build another few seconds before leaning quickly all the way back in his chair, feigning casual. “Well, normally the rules are that the questioner cannot be the answer…” he drew out the ‘er’ of the last word. Steve sighed in relief, muttering, _oh, thank God_ , under his breath.

“…buuut I think in this case, we can make an exception.”

“ _Ohpleaseno_ ,” was approximately the sound that rushed out of Steve’s mouth. Everyone around the circle wore some form of smile—Sam and Clint each sported a grin, Wanda a bemused smirk, and Peter a shy little upward tilt of the lips. None of them could compare to Bucky’s though. He was practically _radiating_.

“Oh don’t sweat it, Cappy,” Tony began, spinning the coin on the table in front of him before snatching it up. “There’s still a fifty-percent chance that he won’t have to share. Let’s see, what did we decide? Heads, I win; tails, you lose?” He said it so fast that no one had the time to process before he was flicking the coin into the air and slapping it on the back of his hand.

“A- _ha_! Tails. You lose. Okay, Barnesy boy. Spill.” Tony leaned forward eagerly.

“Wait, I thought tails meant he didn’t have to share!” Steve tried to speak up before Bucky could.

“Nope, tails means you lose. That’s why I like this coin—if it lands on heads, then I win!” Tony exclaimed gleefully.

Steve was the only one trying to point out the flaw in Tony’s logic—everyone else was egging Bucky on to share what Steve had asked. The dark haired man shook his head in amusement, opening his mouth to speak.

“Okay, firstly, it seems to me like we’ve built a lot of suspense over something that won’t be too crazy in actuality. At least, not after everything else.” Bucky sent a pointed look over to Tony, who had (unsurprisingly) been the asker of the worst questions the entire game.

The others looked a little put out by this, sincerely having hoped it was something wildly scandalous. Bucky went on. “ _But_ , considering this is Stevie, here…I think it’ll still be rather surprising for everyone.”

They all looked considerably brighter after this amendment. Clint even leaned forward out of his seat. Everyone waited with entertainingly baited breath.

Bucky grinned wolfishly. “He asked me—”

“ _Buckypleaseno_!”

“—‘of all the straight guys in the group, who is most likely to secretly be a gay porn star?’”

There was a beat of silence, then:

“Steve! You’re finally getting the hang of it!”

“ _You were the only one I trusted_.”

“That’s it. America’s officially doomed.”

“Oh, come _on_. Is anyone really that surprised?”

“Do you mean at the question, or at the answer?”

“I didn’t know you even knew what porn _was_!”

“ _Him_ asking _that_ question just _has_ to be the eighth wonder of the highly-unnatural world.”

“Yeah, he alone would qualify as one through seven of them.”

“There is _no way_ Rogers could ever be a porn star.”

“Who did you expect him to choose, Steve? Who would _you_ have chosen?”

“Wait, Steve, are you gay?”

“I think the more important question here is: is Barnes gay?”

“Well obviously Steve knows something we don’t.”

“I didn’t know you even knew what gay _meant_!”

“OKAY FOLKS, SETTLE DOWN,” Tony finally managed to shout over everyone else. It took another few moments, but eventually the loud din had receded to a dim buzz of whispers and giggles. The group of them turned towards the two super soldiers on the couch.

“Well, well, well. Little Stevie is all growed up,” Tony dabbed away an invisible tear with an invisible tissue.

“Really, Steve, I’m disappointed in you. What would Peggy say?” That was Sam, teasing lilt to his voice and fond grin on his face. Honestly, Steve’s question was nothing compared to what else had been brought up already (thanks to Clint, Bucky now knew that were such things as male chastity belts, and that Sharon thought either Peter or Steve would be the most likely to wear one). Even so, Steve groaned and tipped his head sideways to rest on Bucky’s shoulder, trying to hide his face. Bucky was confused as to why he suddenly felt heat rise to his cheeks. Maybe he was getting a fever.

“Oh- _ho_! A little bit of chemistry going on over there, I see.” Super soldiers couldn’t get sick, so no fever. Maybe he was just getting mad, what with all this sudden teasing directed towards himself and his best friend. “Tell me, are the two of you gay porn stars _together_?” Clint. Of course.

Steve shot up off of Bucky’s shoulder to sit straight, eyes looking high above everyone’s heads. The man was mortified, he could tell. Steve now probably thought everyone would think less of their fearless leader that was practically viewed as an American saint. He was surprised that Steve had risked Bucky having to tell. Actually, he was just… _surprised_. No one equated _Steve Rogers_ with _porn_ (gay or otherwise).

Steve turned to look helplessly over at him, and Bucky’s heart stuttered at the adorably helpless expression on his pretty face (wait, _pretty_?). Bucky checked his heartrate, still unsure why he felt so strange, and so suddenly. It was elevated, but not in a pounding way like when he got angry. It was more fluttery and delicate, actually. Maybe he was…overheated? Was he feeling warm?

“Huh. Could we make a guest appearance on your guys’ channel? ‘M pretty sure your current number of subscribers would increase times twenty if you featured Thor on there. Although Tony might just scare everyone away again.” Rhodey pretended to add the last part as an afterthought.

The room hadn’t seemed hot before. If anything, it was rather cool. But now his clothes felt stifling, and the heat continued to rebound off of them and back towards his body in an endless cycle. Bucky glanced back over at Steve. He could see his pulse beating sporadically at a point under his jaw. Funny. Stevie hadn’t had irregular heart rhythm since 1941, before Project Rebirth. Maybe they were _both_ coming down with something.

Except super soldiers didn’t get sick.

It was another four minutes and thirty-seven seconds until the others finally dropped it and they were able to continue their game. It truly never occurred to him that maybe _Steve_ was why he was feeling funny. He continued to think it had to be something relating to the question, and how someone had asked if Steve were gay. And then someone asked if Bucky himself was gay. The implications of those two questions together…

Bucky was extremely aware of Steve’s stiff movements beside him on the rare occasions that he _did_ move during that period of time. Most of it for the two of them was spent in an awkward state of trying to ignore the other while trying to be casual about it, and of course they failed miserably. Which is why it went on for four minutes and thirty-seven seconds instead of the two minutes and sixteen seconds it _would_ have been had Tony not asked, “With the way you guys are acting—y’know, all uncomfortable-like…do you, ah… _oppose_ …sexual deviancy?” And that of course caught everyone’s attention.

Tony asked it innocently enough, not intending for this to become some political stand-off, and he hesitated to even assume either of them were anti-equality (none of them were completely surprised Tony had been the one to ask it, given his reputation throughout the later nineties). The two supersoldiers hadn’t been offended, and Steve had rushed to remind them that, “Hey, no, yeah—I had that fundraising event back in June where I signed a bunch of stuff and took pictures, and all the proceeds went to LGBT-related organizations, remember? After…after the…” They all hesitated to say it outright. After what had happened in Orlando, that left forty-nine innocent people dead and dozens more injured. It was a painful memory for all of them, that their country could still be so messed up at times.

Bucky had also been quick to assure everyone that he didn’t give a flying fig about that type of thing; people could be what they wanted as long as no one was being hurt, and it didn’t affect him and honestly was none of his business.

Despite this, the question that took up the final one minute and forty-eight seconds was, “Then why are you being so weird about it?”

%%%

Natasha knew why they were acting the way they were, even if the boys didn’t—and it was obvious that they didn’t. This only cemented her plan of action, and she waited patiently as the game resumed its course and made the slow way around the circle back to her.

“Last round like this—next round, we’ll change some seats up and maybe go the opposite way. Make this question count!” advised Tony.

Oh, she was planning on it.

%%%

Bucky knew that Natalia was going to execute her plan this round, whatever it was. His feet tapped nervously as she leaned towards Steve and he leaned towards her. For whatever reason, Bucky had the strange feeling that this wasn’t going to simply be just an embarrassing question for Stevie. He knew that he was gonna get dragged into it too, somehow.

His fears weren’t eased with Steve’s wide-eyed expression and complaint of, “But, Natasha, I—” as the redhead finished whispering. Aware that she was _finally_ asking the embarrassing questions they had been expecting her to torture their Captain with, everyone perked up a bit more. Everyone except Bucky.

It was entertaining to see Captain Steven G. Rogers, America’s sweetheart and courageous hero, who had faced down undead elephant-mammoth hybrids and ran directly into the line of fire on a regular basis and would straight-out _ignore_ when a building was full-on _blowing up_ to rush in and get the intel—it was funny to see Steve tremble like that. He looked like he’d rather be facing the undead mammoths again, and that was saying something. Bucky had helped with that situation. He liked to think he could still feel the bruises whenever he did his pull-ups.

Steve was scarlet as he looked around the circle, guilt in his eyes that Bucky assumed was at having to choose one of his good friends as the answer to whatever Natalia had demanded of him.

Clint elbowed Sam excitedly, anticipation in the room rising to an almost tangible level and despite his apprehension, Bucky couldn’t help but smirk. That darned coin almost _better_ land on heads after all this build-up—if only to avoid mass mutiny with all of the others calling for a redo. But only _almost_ , because Bucky still knew he was about to be dragged into something they were both probably was gonna regret.

“Ste- _eve_ , you know you can answer any day now,” the redhead goaded in a sing-song voice. “Who would be your first choice?”  Her amusement only growing the longer the Captain hesitated.

“First choice? First choice of _what_?” Peter asked, and the poor kid was so sweet and innocent that Bucky’s smirk fell for a moment at the thought of the boy having to hear whatever (undoubtedly dirty secret) their adored leader was about to admit.

Apparently Steve was thinking along the same lines, and he looked back to Natalia pleadingly. “Nat, _c’mon_ , I really don’t think this is appropriate—”

“Of course it isn’t,” Natalia responded smoothly at the same time Tony called out, _And_ _that’s exactly why we wanna hear it!_

“C’mon Stevie. This isn’t too hard, is it?” Natalia purred, and Bucky’s fist clenched at her use of the nickname. Steve groaned in response, and for whatever reason that made Bucky’s heartrate pick up all over again and he licked his lower lip without conscious thought. Natalia was looking over at him, levelling her fellow ex-Russian assassin with a cool gaze that only she could get away with, else face the wrath of his metal fist.

He knew right then that his fear was no longer just a hunch. He was well and truly screwed.

Steve looked around helplessly at the expectant faces of his teammates and friends, completely lost. Bucky kept his eyes resolutely focused forward and down to where his legs extended all the way out from where he slouched on one of the couches. He deliberately didn’t meet Steve’s gaze whenever Steve looked over at his side of the circle—unlike everyone else, who buzzed with the anticipation of catching his eye and getting a hint of what Natalia had asked that flustered him so much.

Steve looked at Sam a moment, and Bucky saw the man with the bird costume (he was never gonna call him by his alias, not when he pranced around in a getup that Bucky had been able to tear apart without effort) raise an eyebrow, clearly unsure at this point if he should be feeling surprised, insulted, or flattered that he was apparently being considered a possible candidate. But Steve’s eyes quickly flicked away, blush rising from his cheeks to his ears.

Now that Sam was apparently out, Bucky clenched his jaw and tried to will his thoughts over to Steve telepathically. _Don’t do it Stevie, don’t do it. I dunno what the question was but I know the Little Spider is wanting you to choose me. And for whatever reason, that’s gonna be really bad for the both of us in the long run_.

Steve, who had always been oblivious (and so why, of course, would that change now?) ignored Bucky’s mental tirade, head falling forward in his hands until it was level with his wide-spread knees.

“Bucky,” he breathed out in a choked whisper, steam practically rising from the red tips of his burning ears. Bucky fought the urge to smack him in the face, then do the exact same to himself.

The coin was in the air before Steve had even finished the second syllable of Bucky’s name. Stark slapped it onto his hands, gleeful expression already betraying the outcome.

“HEADS!” he shouted giddily, and a cheer went up around the circle that somehow didn’t prevent Bucky from hearing Steve moan again in either frustration or embarrassment. Probably both.

And it didn’t distract Bucky from the rapid _zing_ that travelled straight through his gut upon hearing it.

The noise died down faster than the group of them had ever been able to manage before, waiting eagerly for Steve to spill. Bucky looked over at Natalia She sat calmly on the end of the couch, purposefully covering only half of the self-satisfied smirk that was directed at him by taking another sip of wine. Steve held his hands over his ears as he remained in his almost-fetal position, though that wouldn’t stop his super soldier hearing from still making out every. Single. Reaction. He could keep hoping, though.

Natalia nudged her leg against Steve’s, reminding him that he had to be the one to share the question. Steve’s head lifted, though his eyes remained on the floor. They could all but _feel_ the heat radiating off of his red face.

“What…what guy would you chose to—to lose your virginity to.”

And then it was bedlam, almost everyone jumping to their feet in excitement and all babbling over each other. Bucky looked around, unimpressed.

Really. You would think they were a group of children.

Sam caught his eye from across the group, staying focused on him despite being shaken back and forth by an excited Clint and Tony. It was hard to read the expression on birdman’s face. And if ( _if_ ) Bucky didn’t know any better, he’d almost think it was a rather pointed look, making an inference about Bucky and Steve’s relationship being more than a “platonic bromance” (as Scott had once explained to him).

But it was a good thing that Bucky knew better.

He glared at Wilson who seemed unfazed, and Bucky had to finally give him a little credit. Not many people could remain so calm in the face of the Soldier’s fury.

They were all asking questions again, most of them focusing on the fact that the phrasing of Natalia’s question had been “what _guy_?”

Cue the discussion on Steve’s sexuality.

Again.

“Guy? Why’d she ask ‘ _guy’_?”

“She knows something!”

“Of course she does you idiot; it’s Natasha.”

“And now we have verbal confirmation that he _is_ , in fact, a virgin!”

“Did you seriously ever need it to know?”

“Why just one? Why not bigger?”

“Seriously? Orgy?? _Cap_??”

“What, were you hoping to be invited?”

“Well I mean, given the chance…”

“True. Be hard to pass that one up.”

“Rogers, are you gay?”

“Yeah, Cap, you didn’t give us a straight—haha! Get it? _Straight_?—answer last time.”

“He’s gotta be! He’s gotta be _bi_ at the very least.”

“No, but wait. When have you ev _er_ known Steve to do ‘the very least’?”

“Right. So gay.”

“Yeah, remember he and Barnes are supposed’ta be porn stars _together_.”

“That’s it! Nat wanted us to know that the two of them are fu—”

“Tony, _really_! Why on _Earth_ would she want us to know that?”

“Well _obviously_ they’re together, but for some reason they haven’t actually told us yet.”

“‘Some reason’ being that you’d take every chance you got to embarrass them.”

“Alas, I admit it. But I mean _look at them_! How could they _not_ be?”

A dozen heads swiveled to where Bucky sat stroking Steve’s hair as Steve hid his face in Bucky’s shoulder, still too embarrassed by Natalia’s question to face his team. It was a natural action for both of them—Steve leaning on Bucky for support (literally, in this case) and Bucky happily comforting his Stevie. Despite being a little aggravated (okay, a _lot_ ) that Steve indeed fell into Natalia’s trap and had chosen him, Bucky would _always_ be there to comfort Steve when he needed it. It just wasn’t always so…public.

Bucky’s hand stilled in the air above Steve’s head, looking distantly at his teammates that stood there curiously watching him back. His hand fell slowly to the blonde’s shoulder, resting there and rubbing minute circles onto the—coincidentally—exposed skin of Steve’s neck.

“Something wrong?” Bucky asked, feigning nonchalance. They all sensed the threatening undertone.

“You two seem rather… _close_ ,” Tony said after a pause, and Bucky’s eyes could’ve rolled right out of his head in that moment. Wasn’t Howard’s kid supposed t’ be a genius or something?

“We are,” he agreed, adding nothing after that. Make them squirm.

Clint stepped around Thor’s hulking frame so he could actually see them. “Sooo… _are_ you guys together?” the archer questioned. “ _Dating_?” he added on unnecessarily.

Bucky felt Steve stiffen minutely against his chest.

O- _kay_ …

Still, Bucky was the one to speak. “And if we are?”

Well they certainly weren’t expecting _that_.

It came out as both a challenge and a genuine inquiry, testing the waters. Bucky had no doubt the team would be accepting, except he wasn’t really asking the team. He was asking _Steve_.

Bucky felt Steve tilt his head to the side just enough to allow his bright, cornflower-blue eyes to peek out towards their teammates. He didn’t have to look to know Stevie was giving out his best dang puppy dog pout in that moment, playing up the ‘I’m just so innocent please stop teasing because every time I get embarrassed America helps to increase global warming’ aspect that everyone thought was 100% genuine—though Bucky knew better.

It was quiet for a moment, Bucky and Steve versus the living room. And that’s how it’d always been: Bucky and Steve versus, Bucky and Steve versus, Bucky and Steve…

Bruce’s quiet voice spoke up from behind the main cluster, not breaking the silence, but soothing it, rather. “Should we get back to the game?”

Everyone quietly returned to their seats who was not already there, smiles and frowns of confusion decorating most faces.

Bucky always _relished_ stirring the pot.

The game continued more or less the same, their friends casting them strange glances every now and then as Steve remained practically curled atop Bucky’s chest. Really, they were all making a big deal out of nothing.

When it got to be Bucky’s turn (after much rerouting and discourse that always ended back on the topic of him and Stevie), he realized he had no idea what he was even gonna ask Steve. He tried to stall for time, letting the beginning of the song FRIDAY had begun playing to fill the silence.

 

_I counted the stars tonight,_

_Oh how they shine so bright,_

_I gather them all, so we perfectly align_

 

Bucky shifted some, leaning down to where Steve seemed to be falling asleep on his chest. He took the liberty of nudging his nose in Stevie’s hair to encourage his head up, then allowed his lips to run down the side of his face until they landed on his ear. He hid a smile in Steve’s neck as their friends shifted uncomfortably around them, even more confused by this sudden show of intimacy when not even ten minutes before they all believed Bucky and Steve to be the platonic soulmates the textbooks, documentaries, and museums described them as. “ _Best friends since childhood, Bucky Barnes and Steven Rogers were inseparable on both schoolyard and battlefield…_ ”

Bucky tried to ignore the rising heat settling low in his body when he felt Steve shiver. Since when had Steve affected him like this?

 “So. Stevie.”

 

_While we gaze from far away._

_And separately watch the day_

_Come rising across the horizon in our minds._

 

He realized too late that everyone was waiting, and he still hadn’t asked Steve a question. He rapidly tried to get his thoughts in order and pull together _something_ to ask.

“Yes, Buck?”

Steve had turned his head when Bucky failed to say anything more, face shifting just enough to allow Bucky to gaze into deep blue oceans while also causing his lips to tickle briefly against Bucky’s stubbled cheek. Then Steve’s hand moved from where it sat curled innocently against Bucky’s chest where his face had been to drop down and rest, hot, open-handed, and heavy, against Bucky’s stomach.

So that’s how it is? Well, two could play at that game.

 

_But now I know,_

_My heart is strong,_

_Where you belong_

_Is by my side._

 

Bucky gulped. “Um.”

Then again…maybe not.

And that’s all this was, right? Just a little game between he and Steve to leave everyone else confused and pondering the actual nature of their friendship (which he himself certainly wasn’t doing). It would be funny. It _was_ funny, especially when Bucky caught sight of Scott’s utterly lost expression across the circle.

 

_So will you hold,_

_‘Cause time is cold,_

_But in your soul_

_I’m standing by._

 

“Well, um…who…who do you think—um. Would, ahh…” He looked around the room for inspiration, finally spotting Stark’s equipment for the karaoke night they had yet to have (not that Bucky was particularly disappointed it hadn’t happened just yet). Bucky took the idea and ran with it: “…be the best at karaoke?” he finished lamely, and _heck_ , he was better than this.

It was Steve’s turn to pull back and give him an unimpressed look this time. Bucky fought the urge to shrug his shoulders self-consciously. He was well aware of how bad a question it was. But at least it was a question.

Steve looked around with a bored expression. “Thor,” he stated curtly, and Bucky was certain Steve had chosen the demigod because Steve believed he was actually the _least_ likely to be any good at singing, in protest of the crap question.

The blonde supersoldier sat back against the couch, nodding at Tony to indicate his final answer. Bucky was too busy secretly mourning the loss of Steve against his side that he didn’t even notice that the coin had landed tails and it was now Steve’s turn to ask a question. Natalia was answering, “Maria,” to Steve’s surprisingly entertaining question of, “Who would be the most successful at swapping all the underwear that Fury owns with Hello Kitty ones?” This sparked a rather heated debate of whether or not that would include the ones the Director of SHIELD would be wearing at the time, and then a group effort of coming up with a very detailed plan that hypothetically _could_ work.

 

_I have waited a thousand years,_

_And now that tomorrow’s here,_

_I will shout from the mountain top_

_Our hearts belong near._

 

Steve sat back after asking his question, left arm coming up to rest on the couch behind Bucky. They were no longer sitting as close as before, though they were still definitely close. But that was normal for them.

Bucky looked up from where he was lost in tactical plans for firstly finding Fury’s home and secondly breaking into it (“I’m tellin’ ya man, the guy _doesn’t sleep_. He wouldn’t even need a house!” “People have houses for more than just sleeping, Barton. What, you expect that he keeps all his clothes hung up in a secret closet back at base? All of his little eyepatches lined neatly in a row in his desk so he can choose between _Ink Blot_ _Black_ and _Absolute Abyss_ based on what color he’s feelin’ that morning?” “Yes! Exactly!” “Clint, that’s absurd.” “Well, what _else_ do you suggest?”) when Steve’s knee bumped into his. Steve was smiling at him, just his regular fond smile that said ‘I’m glad you’re here because you’re the one I’d ask to make me an omelet if I got hungry’ and Bucky wondered a moment if their little game was over. Pity. He had been rather enjoying making the others uncomfortable.

 

_And we’ve traveled land and sea,_

_Our beacon the love we keep,_

_But when we unite,_

_This will all have been our dream._

 

(And yes, that was the only reason he was disappointed.)

(Also, Bucky _did_ make a damn good omelet, may it be known.)

“Why are you looking all smug? Shouldn’t _you_ be the one discouraging them from trying anything like that?” Bucky gestured vaguely in front of himself where the debate still raged on how best to distract Fury long enough to make the switch.

Steve shrugged, bicep flexing against the back of Bucky’s neck with the movement. “Eh. Probably.” He considered the others for a moment with a straight face, before turning and grinning at Bucky. “But this is much more fun.”

Bucky rolled his eyes, feeling Steve’s arm drop around his shoulders as Steve laughed at his reaction. He leaned unconsciously into the other man, taking up the same position from earlier, just reversed and a little less…cozy.

If Steve was surprised, he hid it well. The two focused back on what the others were talking about, the group finally having decided that while Maria _was_ the best option for the mission, it was still an impossible one. At the moment, Rhodey was asking Thor something that had the demigod throwing his head back and barking out a big, booming laugh. This would either be very good, or very bad.

They played one more round of the game, Bucky not even remembering what it was that he had asked Stevie for his final turn.

It was late, and the group dispersed to different rooms and floors. Pepper had (amazingly) discouraged Tony from “just finishing up” a few (dozen) projects of his and was now dragging him off to get some _real_ sleep; Rhodey, Sam, Wanda, and Thor moved over to the pool table, talking and laughing and still apparently quite wide awake; Scott, Sharon and Bruce were leaning against the bar, murmuring softly and nodding their heads occasionally as they talked; Pietro had apparently rushed straight out, Vision, Hope and Peter had gone directly to bed, and Clint was talking animatedly to Natalia as they made their way out of the room, the archer still stuck on making “Operation: Hello-Kitty” (Clint’s words, not Bucky’s) happen.

Just as the pair were about to disappear from view, Natalia turned back to give Bucky a wink and a smirk that he definitely didn’t like. What was the Little Spider up to now?

Bucky turned to locate where Steve had run off to. He was over grabbing a few beers by Sharon, the two of them sharing a laugh at something and Steve gently resting a casual hand on her back for a short moment as he walked away, Sharon giving him a much less gentle—but apparently no less friendly—swat on the arm.

Steve still had a smile on his face when he spotted Bucky. The man’s eyes lit up more upon seeing Bucky than they had already been from talking to Sharon. Bucky, for whatever reason, felt a smug sense of satisfaction at that.

“I’m gonna go watch Sam and Wanda play Rhodey and Thor in pool until I either fall asleep as Sam takes his jolly good time or have to break up a fight between him and Rhodey over whether a certain hit was intentional or not. Care t’ join me?” Steve gave him that easy smile, posture loose and relaxed. He looked quite happy, even.

“Nah, think ‘m gonna head upstairs and watch that documentary Sam suggested of the declining Alaskan Halibut population. Should put me right to sleep, and _I_ won’t even have to break up a fight,” Bucky said with a note of superiority in his voice, like it was actually something to be proud of. Steve grinned.

“Right. You go do that. I’ll try not to disturb you and your entrancement with the fishies when I come up.”

This was the point where he and Steve should be parting ways, walking off with a smile and a nod, possibly a wave and the bird if ~~they~~ Bucky was feeling it.

But after their strange little cuddle session on the couch tonight…Bucky had a strong desire for a hug before going away. Which was a little odd, considering he and Steve ended up somewhat cuddled together all the time up in the living room on their floor of the Tower, and Bucky never needed a hug goodbye at the end of _those_. And Bucky hugged Steve almost as much as he cuddled him—would often even tackle him from behind if Steve wasn’t paying attention and he could get the drop on him. So why was this suddenly feeling so different?

 To cover up any hesitations or signs of awkwardness on his part, Bucky swiped one of the bottles from Steve’s large hands, popping off the top with his metal thumb and drinking half of it in one go before handing it back to Steve with an ‘ _ahh’_ and contented smirk. Steve frowned.

“Hey, you jerk! These were supposed to be for Rhodey, Sam and I!” he protested, kicking lightly at Bucky’s shin since his hands were full.

“I know. That’s why I drank from Sam’s,” Bucky replied easily, sending a big smile over in the direction of that exact person, just as he looked up and narrowed his eyes. (Sam didn’t know just yet what Bucky had done, but whenever he saw a smile on the supersoldier’s face that was directed at him, Sam knew something fishy was afloat.)

“Ugh, you two are terrible. It’s like babysitting kids that secretly love each other but pretend to hate each other. There’s so much contradiction in everything you say and do!” Steve exclaimed with high exasperation. He was too old for this.

Bucky raised an eyebrow at his friend’s proclamation, still keeping his eye contact with Sam. “Sam? Hate _me_? Never!” he said, stricken. “ _No one_ can hate _me_. I’m just too loveable.” Bucky grinned even wider at Sam when the man held his pool cue so that it stuck up from between his closed knuckles in a sign that was obviously meant to be Bucky’s favorite hand gesture (to give, though. Not usually to receive). Bucky turned his smile on Steve. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Steve rolled his eyes in a way that said he was one more incident between Sam and Bucky away from making the entire team do laps in the gym, and if he weren’t six-something feet tall and two-hundred-plus pounds of pure muscle and also in a position to actually follow through with it, it would’ve been completely _adorable_. “Terrible,” was what he ended up saying with his mouth. “Terrible, terrible.”

Bucky gave him an easy smile as he leaned against the back of the couch. “You know _you_ love me, at least,” he cajoled as Steve walked away, blonde head shaking at the two of them. Steve turned when he said it.

“Yeah,” he spoke, small smile playing on his lips that was partially hidden by the neck of a beer bottle— _Sam’s_ beer bottle, Bucky noticed. Or at least the one that was _supposed_ to be Sam’s. “I do.”

And with that he turned away, tossing one of the two unopened beers to Rhodes and the other to Wilson. Dagnabit.

Bucky was left considering his words as he rode the elevator up. The words, the phrasing, the tone, the body language, the facial expression, the events before and after. Anything that would give him a clue as to what Steve had meant.

He knew, of course, what Steve had meant. At least in one sense he did. But there was something in his gut that ~~believed~~ ~~hoped~~ wondered if there was another meaning that went along with it. Bucky sighed. Feelings. His were always strongest around Stevie, and the man had him wrapped around his finger without even knowing it. Not that Steve would ever purposefully exploit that or use it to his advantage if he _did_ know, just…Bucky wondered _if_ he knew.

And just what would Steve do if he did?

**Author's Note:**

> "Standing By"  
> Pentatonix  
> PTX, Vol. III (2014)
> 
>  
> 
> Smut will be in Chapter 2. 
> 
> Leave some comments about what you'd like to see - I'm not stuck on a certain premise, so all ideas are welcome! My last fic, "Providing for His Needs", was pretty much D/s Stucky porn (Bucky was Dom in that one, though I'm open to switching!) and quite well received, so maybe I'll do more of that...
> 
> Please leave suggestions!!! What do yo wanna see?!? HAALLPPP MEEEE!!!


End file.
